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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Vaccinium myrsinites | Ground Blueberry
 

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VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Vaccinium myrsinites | Ground Blueberry
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : NO-ENTRY IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Browse: The importance of ground blueberry browse to wildlife and livestock is not well documented. Fall deer utilization was estimated at 10.0 percent during the first year after fire in a longleaf pine-turkey oak (Quercus laevis) community of Florida [20]. Fruit: Mammals such as the black bear, raccoon, white-footed mouse, red fox, gray fox, skunks, chipmunks, deer mice, and squirrels feed on the fruit of Vaccinium spp. [29,44]. Throughout the southeastern Coastal Plain, white-tailed deer consume the fruit of ground blueberry [23]. The ring-necked pheasant, scarlet tanager, gray catbird, thrushes, towhees, thrashers, and bluebirds eat berries of many species of Vaccinium [29,44]. Large numbers of ground blueberry fruit are eaten by the ruffed grouse, wild turkey, and quail [42]. In pine flatwood communities, it is a major spring and summer food of the northern bobwhite [23]. PALATABILITY : Ground blueberry fruit is highly palatable to a wide variety of birds and mammals. NUTRITIONAL VALUE : Browse: Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) foliage is relatively high in carotene, manganese, and energy content [12,19]. Fruit: Vaccinium berries are sweet and contain high concentrations of both mono- and di-saccharides [38]. Berries are rich in vitamin C and energy content but low in fats [22,35]. COVER VALUE : Ground blueberry presumably provides cover for a variety of small birds and mammals. Dense saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)-ground blueberry thickets provide good cover for many species of birds [5]. VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : Species within the genus Vaccinium can be propagated from hardwood stem cuttings or from seed. Seedlings grown in the greenhouse can be transplanted onto favorable sites 6 to 7 weeks after emergence. Seed collection and storage techniques have been considered in detail [11]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : The edible fruit of ground blueberry is described as "juicy" [32] and of "fair quality" [8]. Fruit is commonly eaten raw. Many blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) were important traditional foods of Native American peoples. Ground blueberry hybridizes with a number of highbush blueberries and may have potential for improving heat and drought tolerance of commercial fruit-producing strains [13]. Its ability to grow well on upland mineral soil makes it well Suited for use in commercial blueberry breeding [25]. Ground blueberry was first cultivated in England after 1880 [8]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Mechanical removal: In southern mixed forests, double chopping produces high mortality in the ground blueberry [40]. Chemical control: Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) exhibit variable susceptibility to herbicides such as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, glyphosate, karbutilate, and picloram [6]. Habitat destruction: Ground blueberry is a prominent understory constituent of scrub palmetto communities which have been disappearing as development occurs along the southeastern coast. Much of this unique habitat has been destroyed within the past century [3]. Timber harvest: Most blueberries are susceptible to postlogging treatments which include severe scarification [30]. This appears to be true of ground blueberry as well. Wildlife considerations: Blueberries are an extremely important food source for black bears. In many areas, bear-human conflicts are most likely to occur during years of blueberry crop failure [30,37]. Fruit production: In young pine plantations, fruit yields of ground blueberry tend to be greatest during the fourth year after conifer plantings [23]. Berry production in a young slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantation was as follows [23]: years since standing crops (g/100m sq) of fruit planting site 1 site 2 1 6.7 12.0 2 0.5 4.0 3 6.6 4.0 4 11.4 4.0 5 1.4 4.0 6-10 0.1 4.0

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium myrsinites | Ground Blueberry

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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